Louisiana, Mississippi and Texas have been most affected by financial hardships, according to recent findings from WalletHub.
12/12/2023 3:35 P.M.
1.5 minute read
Over the past few years, Americans have faced economic challenges such as inflation, job fluctuations, health issues due to the COVID-19 pandemic and more, all of which have caused financial hardships.
WalletHub conducted an in-depth analysis of the financial struggles experienced across the nation, comparing states and the District of Columbia across nine key metrics, including average credit scores, the year-to-year change in bankruptcy filings, and the percentage of people experiencing account distress.
“If you are in financial distress, some of the best options to pursue are debt settlement, debt management and free credit counseling,” said Cassandra Happe, WalletHub analyst.
The study highlighted that certain states, such as Louisiana, Mississippi, Texas and Tennessee, are most affected by financial hardships, whereas states like New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Maine and Rhode Island experience a comparatively lesser impact.
Other findings include:
- “Louisiana is the state where people are in the most financial distress, which makes sense given that it’s extremely vulnerable to natural disasters and has the second-highest poverty rate in the country.
- Around 11.6% of Louisianans have a credit account where they have temporarily been allowed to not make payments due to financial difficulty, the highest percentage in the U.S.
- The average credit score in Louisiana is 642, the third lowest in the country, according to WalletHub’s proprietary data. That’s only just above the threshold for fair credit, at 640.
- Mississippi is the state with the highest poverty rate, at over 19% according to the latest Census data.
- Texans have a reported high number of economic struggles, including an increase of more than 21% in non-business bankruptcy filings in the past year. Nearly 7% of the state’s residents have an account in forbearance or with deferred payments, too, which is in the top 10 in the U.S.”
Read the WalletHub study here.
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